IS there still place on the 21st century stage for magic? In a world of instantly available and popular entertainment, it would seem that magic is a dying art.
There is no longer a prevalent, serious public interest in extrasensory and paranormal effects. The typical image of a magician in a top hat with a rabbit is, today, a rare and comical figure. Although there are some performers who still class themselves as magicians, such as the popular Dynamo, most performers who claim to have magical powers are criticised and ridiculed. The standard example of this is of course Uri Geller, who claimed his abilities to bend spoons and describe hidden drawings were a demonstration of psychokinesis and telepathy.
Instead, magic is becoming more commonly reclassified and presented as ‘illusionism’, although it still uses many time-old and traditionally-based ‘magic’ tricks. Stage presences, such as Derren Brown, are popular for their reassuring determination to ensure the audience is aware that there is always an explanation behind his stage tricks. Although Brown often deceives the audience in exactly how the magic is performed, he never claims to have any paranormal or psychic abilities, and denounces those who do. Penn & Teller are another notable example; often claiming to reveal the secrets behind their tricks (for example, using transparent cups in the common cups and balls trick), they misdirect the audience in order to re-mystify the very trick they have just debunked (for example, adding a potato into the cups and balls trick).
Magic, therefore, in the late 20th and early 21st century, is becoming a more versatile category. Instead of fooling audiences that magic is real, they work on the premise magic is illusion, thus modernising from exploiting belief into exploiting disbelief. In assuring the audience that magical tricks are not “magic” and demystifying old magic tricks as an example, performers nonetheless continue to distort and revive these same age-old tricks to provide even more complex and disorientating illusions.
Image credit: Charles Crosbie
Yet an additional problem facing the popularity of magic today is the rise of technology: both in terms of using technological advancements to carry out a trick more efficiently, and in the technology of broadcasting magic. Although technology can and does help performers conceal tricks, there is something reductive and disappointing in simple, technologically based answers to seemingly complex performances. This is compounded by the use of television to broadcast where home audiences are inevitably even more separated from the performance, and thus more sceptical of the possibility of post-production edits and effects behind the shows.
To resolve this, the most popular televised form of magic show is the artist performing in front of a studio or stage audience, in order to reassure the remote viewer that the illusions are really happening in “real time”. As technology enables more complicated tricks to be performed and shows to be broadcast to wider audiences, the magician faces the connected challenge of continuing to engage and mystify the audience in order to convince the audience of the virtues of showmanship, mentalism and illusion, as opposed to simple technological trickery.
Magic as we once knew it – the wizard pulling a rabbit out of his hat, the deliberate insistence on concealment over revealing – is, certainly, a dying art. Instead, the subtle combination of exposure, explanation and misdirection – the balance between revealing and further disillusion – are enjoying resurgence, both televised and live.
Magic, like all arts, is endlessly reviving through the renovation of old tricks and illusions, whilst at once unceasingly inventing new illusions. Through the recategorization of magic as illusionism, and the insistence on traditional forms of presentation such as stage performances, magic in the 21st century is in fact a living art – continuously resurrecting and reinventing itself whilst still grounded by age-old and timeless principles.
Dannee McGuire
Read Exepose Arts’ interview with Derren Brown here.
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Exeposé Arts Editors, Sophy Coombes-Roberts and Ricky Freelove, talked to Britain’s leading illusionist Derren Brown.
Ten years ago, the commercial world of magic was dominated by Blaine, Copperfield and duo Penn and Teller. From hosting television shows, to live airings of groundbreaking tricks, they revolutionised the craft allowing everyone and anyone to experience magical spectacles right from their living rooms. Since then, the enormity of such tricks and illusions escalated wildly in terms of scale, skill and danger, yet for some reason magicians seemed to struggle in capturing the same interest of the 1990s. That was until a certain man entered the scene with a bang, shocking the public with his astounding debut mind-reading show.
Derren Brown Image Credit: LWP Kommunikacio
Heads started to turn, and a hype built up around this magician claiming to have no psychic ability whatsoever, yet performing extraordinary tricks of illusion and mentalism. Now a household name, Derren Brown is undoubtedly the biggest illusionist in Britain, but the big question is: what is his secret? How was he able to create such a buzz around his act whilst others failed miserably? We were lucky enough to grab a few moments with the man himself to reveal the tricks of his trade.
Of course the first thing we had to ask was exactly that: to what does he attribute his past ten years of success to? “A refusal to keep doing the same thing”, that is the simple answer replies Brown. “The shows have changed dramatically every couple of years and grown up with me. Again, a guy doing tricks isn’t inherently that interesting. In fact it’s sort of a bit sad. So if you don’t move on and grow up, you’ll quickly outlive your audience’s interest. I think my developing lack of enthusiasm for magic has, more than anything, allowed me to do something more interesting with it.”
Magic in the 21st Century
Brown’s career has seemingly paved the way for other British magicians to capture the attention of the public. His act has not only inspired others, but helped rebuild a market in which British magicians can thrive. With stars such as Pete Firman and Dynamo enjoying a taste of the limelight, Brown is happy to agree that the popularity of magic is increasing: “It’s very popular at the moment” he comments. “My first show was a response to Blaine’s popularity, as more directly were Paul Zenon’s shows. If something does well then more like it tends to spring up. The Dynamo and Ben Earl magic shows since have used the production teams behind my own shows to try to get the same feel in theirs.”
“It’s all good fun and it’s lovely to watch them be so successful. A general rise in popularity can only be a good thing. If it’s done well – sadly it’s very easy to make magic that just works for TV – I think the real test of a magician is still a live performance.” Despite working on numerous hit television shows in the past, Brown admits he has a soft spot for live performances. However, he admits shows such as “Penn & Teller’s Fool Us, even that Masked Magician series, suggest that it (magic) is still finding an enthusiastic TV audience at least, and therefore creating a lot of new magicians.”
So is that how he has become such a sensation? Brown has had success both on screen and in shows. In fact his most recent tour Infamous was a total sell out. His tricks are getting bigger and better so we asked could he take it one step further and entertain stadiums? Comedians have certainly done so, progressing from the Apollo to arena tours. Is this his next big trick? Brown is unsure: “Mentalism and much of magic would need re-thinking to work in a stadium venue”, he concedes, “but I think this would be an exciting challenge. For me it’s about creating something out of the space that serves the type of performance. People trapped in an old building with me is a nice starting point for my theatre shows so they suit me well. I’d have to re-think that relationship – and therefore the material – if I were playing a stadium. When the venue doesn’t serve the performance – like watching a comedian in a stadium and you end up watching the screens and it feels like you might as well be at home watching it on TV – that’s no fun, and it’s soul-destroying for the performer too.”
Image credit: LWP Komminikacio
On TV, in a stadium or theatre, Derren Brown’s tricks are consistently jaw-dropping. However, perhaps his most appealing factor is that he is a self-confessed fraud, admitting he has no psychic ability whatsoever. So how does he produce magic shows, with such self confession? It’s all about the performance. He stresses: “if I don’t sell the ‘magic’ moments in the show, with varying light and shade, and in a way that’s constantl interesting, the show will be dull, however impossible the magic is. No-one will care, it’ll be reduced to a man demonstrating things he can do better than you can. No-one wants to see that.”
Magic as an Art Form
Up to this point in the interview Brown has established where he sees the place of magic within the commercial world, but how does he see it fitting in with the arts? Magician Alex Geiser has openly voiced his belief that art should be defined as an outward form of expression, a category which he sees magic fitting into. Yet others have classed the methodology behind magic as a science, with the performance aspect of the shows falling under a form of art. Brown disagrees with all of these preconceptions. “The problem with magic being an art is that it is inherently dishonest” he jokes referring to his lack of supernatural abilities. “Plus something can be art but bad art: good art has to fit on the end of a developing, dynamic narrative about what art does rather than statements about what is or isn’t. Currently that narrative is about challenging us, so if magic is to be worthwhile art it would first need to be made to be genuinely challenging. But I still think the honesty problem is difficult to surmount. Or at least that’s only a problem if you have artistic pretensions, and I certainly don’t. But what about magicians who believe their acts are honest, such as those who genuinely believe they can connect with the dead, does this overcome the problem? Unfortunately is that it fails as theatre as it’s being offered as truth. So it just becomes a scam, and it would be odd to dignify it with the label art.”
Despite this dismissal, Brown is certainly no stranger to the world of the art. Although he is known for his magic shows, when he is not touring or performing, he devotes his free time to painting. In fact he is happy to let artwork influence his performances as seen in his 2011 ‘Svengali’ tour where he painted a portrait upside down during the show. To this observation Brown admits: “I’d wanted to do a painting piece for a long time, and we’d played around with a different portrait routine in the early previews of that show (which was OK, but it was a slow piece followed by another slow piece which is theatrical suicide). So I worked on the idea with my fellow co-writers. I think it’s always interesting to see a real skill at work quite aside from magic-making, and it ended up being the strongest thing in the show.”
Image credit: Lwp Kommunikacio
Student Magic
What’s that you may ask? Most universities don’t even run a ‘magic society’ – or if they do, we certainly don’t know about it. So why is there such a gap in popularity between amateur societies such as dramatics, and amateur magician societies? “Fewer people are interested in magic. Less is known about it, which makes sense given its arcane nature. Plus I think magic appeals to a particular urge to impress people through the quickest, most fraudulent route, so that’s most likely to appeal to people who perhaps don’t feel that impressive. That’s not quite the same as a wider desire to perform.”
That being said, we made sure to glean a final snippet of information from Britain’s leading magician, asking what he would say to Exeter students who are interested in learning more about magic tricks, illusions or hypnosis? To that he comically replied: “Don’t let it make you into that guy who needs it to feel impressive. It’s bad for your life, and it’s bad for your magic. People have to like you when you perform, and they won’t if you haven’t worked out how to relate to people without talking about or doing magic. So read and learn and all the rest of it, but keep one foot in real life.”
Derren Brown is coming to the final stages of his ‘Infamous’ tour. Catch him in the flesh at the Bristol Hippodrome during 21-26 April. In addition to this he tells us there should be an exhibition of his portraits (the right way up) at the Rebecca Hossack gallery in London next year.
Sophy Coombes-Roberts and Ricky Freelove, Arts Editors
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Grace Mcgeehan gives her views on the Northcott’s current show, A Midsummer’s Night Dream. It runs until the 2nd of February.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream has a cast of eight extremely talented actors who have performed at Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Almeida Festival. The show arrives in Exeter having already received excellent reviews; it has been celebrated as a “quality production,” and a “bold and brilliant achievement.”
I completely agree with these reviews – the group captured Shakespeare’s play with infectious enthusiasm. It was an enthralling performance that I definitely recommend to everyone.
Photo by Exeter Northcott
The show began with the actors playing a group of modern day students in the setting of a classroom detention. The extreme contrast from this to the elaborate Midsummer Woods, where they became lovers, princes and fairies, was captivating. The actors’ versatility, and ability to adapt into different roles so quickly and easily was particularly impressive.
I was swept off my feet – the play was performed at a fast pace, but was easy to keep up with due to its entrancing nature. It was energetic and creative, and although they opted to use the original script for their production, they kept it fresh.
The comedy factor was first class, and the actors dealt well with the uncontrollable laughter, leaving gaps to make sure every single word was heard.
Photo by Exeter Northcott
The set used by the production group was simple, yet effective. Each actor utilized the set and incorporated it into their performance. It meant they exhibited their excellent body language and movement around the stage, something that came across as very natural and easy to the audience. The costumes were also minimal, but perfect for each role.
It was overall an impressive, striking and enchanting performance.
exeposedev 